{"id":8026,"date":"2026-08-01T10:38:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T10:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8026"},"modified":"2026-08-01T10:38:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T10:38:46","slug":"trump-threw-us-all-a-curveball-south-carolina-republicans-are-stewing-about-lindsey-grahams-old-senate-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8026","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Trump threw us all a curveball\u2019: South Carolina Republicans are stewing about Lindsey Graham\u2019s old Senate seat"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n When President Donald Trump helped orchestrate Darline Graham\u2019s appointment to finish Sen. Lindsey Graham\u2019s term, many Republicans in South Carolina saw it as a fitting tribute to her late brother.\n <\/p>

Read more Fat squirrels, rowdy bears and burned-out rangers: How Trump policies are scrambling America\u2019s national parks<\/a><\/p>\n

\n But four days later, following Trump\u2019s announcement that he wanted Graham to run for a six-year term, their feelings quickly flipped.\n <\/p>\n

\n The president\u2019s decision to get behind a political unknown for a breakneck special election process is further testing his clout in South Carolina, a solidly red state where Republicans already this year have roundly rejected his first pick for the governor\u2019s race and his push to redraw the state\u2019s congressional maps. Behind the scenes, some Republicans are stewing as others fret that Trump is setting himself up for failure, once again, in the Palmetto State.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe issue is that the president continues to get bad advice about South Carolina,\u201d said CJ Westfall, chairman of the Dorchester County GOP. \u201cWe certainly empathize with Darline \u2014 and even the president, as Lindsey was a really good friend of his \u2014 but he\u2019s certainly getting bad advice. We\u2019ve got a lot more exciting options for this seat. It\u2019s a once-in-a-generation opportunity.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n When speaking privately to candidly discuss the race, GOP heavyweights in the state echo a growing number of social media posts lamenting \u201ccoronations\u201d and \u201cmonarchies\u201d \u2014 complaining that what could have been South Carolina Republicans\u2019 first open Senate primary in more than two decades now features an incumbent with the same surname.\n <\/p>\n

\n One Republican state lawmaker said it felt like a \u201cbackroom deal\u201d that voters wouldn\u2019t like. A county GOP official suggested some voters would see it as \u201ca family Senate seat being passed down.\u201d And another GOP state legislator said there are \u201cdefinitely hard feelings.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis was always going to be a little messy because it\u2019s a warp-speed campaign for a Senate seat,\u201d said the second lawmaker. \u201cAnd then Trump threw us all a curveball with Darline. That wasn\u2019t expected. It wasn\u2019t exactly welcomed here, either. But it\u2019s the president\u2019s choice. And voters will have their choice.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n However, they are less likely to vent publicly, in part because Graham is grieving the loss of her brother but also due to Trump\u2019s quick endorsement of the political newcomer and his penchant for going after those who openly criticize his strategy.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Sen.<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nSen. Darline Graham mourns by the casket of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, during a Congressional tribute in the Rotunda of the US Capitol, on July 28.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Allison Robbert\/AP<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Allies of Darline Graham are confident that South Carolina Republicans will warm to her now that her brother\u2019s funerals are over and she is more free to campaign. They expect her to pay homage to her brother\u2019s legacy but also show she is her own person and more focused on domestic issues as a working mother of two children.\n <\/p>\n

\n Graham\u2019s campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story. But in her first ad, which came out Thursday, she seeks to put to rest any questions about her readiness for the job, saying she is \u201cready to serve.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Jordan Pace, a state representative who chairs the South Carolina Freedom Caucus and supports Rep. Ralph Norman for the seat, said there\u2019s been a clear backlash to Graham\u2019s candidacy.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe conservative grassroots, who\u2019s kind of the base of the Republican electorate, instantaneously went against this,\u201d Pace said, suggesting the race is too short \u2014 and too important \u2013 for pulling punches about Darline Graham. \u201cThis is as fast and furious as it gets.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Asked for comment on this story, the White House referred to Trump\u2019s previous comments on Graham, including the social media post where he endorsed her.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump\u2019s endorsement didn\u2019t stop others from running\n<\/h2>\n

\n The impact \u2013 or perhaps lack thereof \u2013 of Trump\u2019s endorsement can be seen in the crowded nine-person field.\n <\/p>\n

\n Graham did not deter two major competitors, Reps. Russell Fry and Norman, from challenging her. Others running include businessman Mark Lynch, who challenged Lindsey Graham earlier this year in the primary, and Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor and congressman. The August 11 primary is so widely expected to go to a runoff that the state GOP has already scheduled a debate for a week later.\n <\/p>\n

\n Several GOP operatives told CNN this week they wouldn\u2019t be surprised if this brief Senate primary campaign ended in a dual endorsement like the governor\u2019s race earlier this year. After the Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette was forced into a runoff with Attorney General Alan Wilson, Trump amended his endorsement to include both of them. Wilson ended up beating Evette resoundingly.\n <\/p>\n

\n Multiple people in Palmetto State politics said they had expected Trump \u2013 after Lindsey Graham\u2019s death \u2013 to endorse Fry. CNN previously reported the 41-year-old Myrtle Beach-area congressman had been engaged in positive conversations with Trump about running up until the president posted his endorsement of Darline Graham.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Rep.<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nRep. Russell Fry speaks ahead of a rally with Donald Trump in February 2024.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Meg Kinnard\/AP\/File<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Despite losing out on the endorsement, Fry has continued to highlight his good relationship with Trump while campaigning, even noting that Trump endorsed his House re-election campaign a few months back. The strategy feels similar to the way Wilson handled his own campaign, even as Evette had Trump\u2019s endorsement before the runoff.\n <\/p>\n

\n Graham\u2019s opponents have to walk a tightrope: running against her without risking the appearance of attacking the president or a grieving sister.\n <\/p>\n

\n The contrasts have been indirect so far. Norman has pitched himself as a \u201cproven conservative.\u201d A Norman campaign spokeswoman, Brittany Yanick, said in a statement that he \u201cwill run a positive campaign and focus on highlighting [his] proven America First conservative record.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Sanford said in an interview he has a \u201clongstanding record of accomplishment on conservative ideals.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\nMark Sanford speaks to voters he campaigns for the US House in Summerville, South Carolina, in April.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Meg Kinnard\/AP<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Fry has touted himself as part of a \u201cnew generation\u201d of leadership with \u201cfresh energy.\u201d He argues he has a longer record of loyalty to the president.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen nobody else really in this field was with the president, we were,\u201d Fry said this week in a radio interview, suggesting Trump likes him as much as he does Darline Graham. \u201cHe\u2019s very high on me too.\u201d\n <\/p>

Read more Justice Dept. admits Reflecting Pool renovation was flawed, drops case against former Olympian<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Now the Republican nominee for governor, Wilson has called for civility and partnered with the state GOP to host \u201cstump stops\u201d across the state to give the candidates a platform to make their case to voters. All the candidates were scheduled to appear together Saturday and at least two debates are scheduled before primary day.\n <\/p>\n

\n Tyson Grinstead, a member of the Republican National Committee from South Carolina, said he thought Trump\u2019s endorsement would carry more weight in the Senate primary than it did in the gubernatorial primary. South Carolina Republicans, he said, understand that being effective in Washington requires a close relationship with the president like what Lindsey Graham had.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI do think people are willing to look at the field and see who\u2019s in there and make a decision on their own,\u201d Grinstead said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Darline Graham steps into the spotlight\n<\/h2>\n

\n When Gov. Henry McMaster introduced Graham as his interim appointment to the seat, McMaster himself was not under the impression she would run in the special election, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.\n <\/p>\n

\n But around the time of an Oval Office meeting with Trump, word leaked out that she was interested \u2013 and within hours, Trump gave her his blessing. Suddenly, a somber period turned more political, as Republicans raced to learn more about her ahead of a potential full six-year term.\n <\/p>\n

\n Much of what was already known about her had to do with her close relationship with her brother. Their parents raised them in a room behind a bar they owned in the town of Central, South Carolina. After each parent died 15 months apart in the 1970s, Lindsey Graham was left to raise his younger sister through her teenage years and college.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Darline<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nDarline Graham rides with Sen. Lindsey Graham during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, in August 2015.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Daniel Acker\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images\/File<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n She went on to hold several state government roles in South Carolina and has been serving as a commissioner of the state\u2019s Commission for the Blind since 2019. Her campaign plans to highlight that experience as part of her commitment to making government more efficient.\n <\/p>\n

\n Graham inherited her brother\u2019s committee assignments shortly after being sworn in, and she began illuminating her views by cosponsoring dozens of bills. She cosponsored the SAVE America Act, a Trump priority bill that would overhaul federal elections, and later signed on to the Russia sanctions bill that was posthumously named after her brother.\n <\/p>\n

\n Graham has suggested she will be less concerned with foreign policy than her brother, a well-known supporter of US intervention abroad. Trump told reporters Wednesday he that thought she would be \u201cmuch more focused\u201d on domestic issues.\n <\/p>\n

\n Still, many South Carolinians are seeing Graham in an overtly political light for the first time after she spent years behind the scenes helping her brother.\n <\/p>\n

\n Eaddy Willard, a longtime South Carolina GOP activist, said she has known of Darline Graham as far back as the 1990s, when Willard was working for Sanford, the former congressman and governor who is now running against her.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cBottom line, just about any election cycle, we saw and got to know Darline,\u201d Willard said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Willard said it never occurred to her that Graham could enter politics herself because she was always seen as playing a supporting role for her brother. And even if she harbored her own political ambitions, Willard added, she seemed \u201cmindful of etiquette and appropriateness\u201d and would not go out of her way to upstage her brother.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cOverall my sense of Darline has always been that she\u2019s just very grounded,\u201d Willard said. \u201cShe seemed comfortable in any situation and not flustered by sometimes the pomp and circumstance that is politics. And I imagine that comes from living through such tragedy, not just of her parents dying but living in poverty and a pretty austere upbringing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\nSen. Darline Graham departs a vote at the US Capitol on July 23.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Eric Lee\/Reuters<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Kevin Bishop, a former longtime aide to Lindsey Graham, said that upbringing forged a tight relationship between Lindsey and Darline Graham. Lindsey Graham, Bishop said, often played the role of the \u201coverbearing big brother.\u201d Darline Graham came to appreciate that more as an adult, realizing it came from \u201ca place of love,\u201d Bishop said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cShe is distinguished in her own right, and she\u2019s always been a loving sister,\u201d Bishop said. \u201cAnd I think when people get to know her, they\u2019re going to be really impressed with Darline and just the type of person she is. She\u2019s got a quick wit. She\u2019s very funny. She\u2019s also a sweet Southern lady, but she can push back when she needs to.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The competition isn\u2019t backing down\n<\/h2>\n

\n Graham entered the race with some significant advantages beyond Trump\u2019s endorsement. While Senate Majority Leader John Thune is staying neutral in the primary, she has the support of three other Senate GOP leaders, according to Semafor: Majority Whip John Barrasso, Conference Chair Tom Cotton and Policy Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito.\n <\/p>\n

\n Graham is also benefiting from ad spending in coordination with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is chaired by fellow South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. The spending comes as part of Lindsey\u2019s Graham\u2019s leftover campaigns funds that have been transferred to the NRSC, according to a source familiar with the arrangement.\n <\/p>\n

\n Security is Strength PAC, a super PAC that was supporting Lindsey Graham\u2019s reelection before he died, has already launched a $900,000 advertising campaign for Darline Graham. Its debut ad touts that she has been \u201cendorsed by President Trump to continue Lindsey Graham\u2019s mission.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Yet her best-known competitors are also off to a strong start, even as Trump reiterates his support for Graham in public appearances. Norman has the backing of Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida, as well as fellow South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace. Fry has been endorsed by 40 state lawmakers and has already raised more than $800,000. And Sanford is being boosted by a super PAC that has already spent over $1 million.\n <\/p>\n

\n The ads boosting Graham\u2019s rivals don\u2019t mention her. But they put the issue of conservative credibility front and center.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen you choose your next senator, you shouldn\u2019t have to guess,\u201d Norman said in his first ad. \u201cYou should already know.\u201d\n <\/p>

Read more Trump, under pressure on Iran, takes his Cabinet to the woods<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When President Donald Trump helped orchestrate Darline Graham\u2019s appointment to finish Sen. 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